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Yankees: 3 arb players that should be offered contract extensions this offseason

By Thomas Carannante |
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 20: Aaron Judge #99 and Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees celebrate after defeating the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium on September 20, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 20: Aaron Judge #99 and Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees celebrate after defeating the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium on September 20, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
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Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

Facing a tough offseason, the New York Yankees have an MLB-high 19 players eligible for arbitration. Some of those guys will get their expected one-year offers. Others will get non-tendered. We’ll see a few of said players get traded.

Then we have the possibility of the front office trying to get ahead of the game by offering contract extensions rather than continually going through the arbitration process or sending the wrong message.

Realistically, the Yankees have a few priorities on the docket among this bunch. There are a few opportunities to save money as well. There are more than three candidates to potentially extend, but general manager Brian Cashman has to spend money on other needs, so it’s hard to predict even more than two such extensions, if we’re being honest.

Either way, the Yankees need to somewhat plan for the future outside of Gerrit Cole, Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Hicks, all of whom are the only players guaranteed money and contracts after the 2022 season.

Who would you offer extensions to? It’s not the easiest of discussions, but we think trying to begin talks with these three candidates might be in the team’s best interest.

3. Gleyber Torres

Hear us out, just for a moment. We know Torres has drawn the ire of the fan base for a couple seasons now, but his switch to shortstop clearly was the wrong move and the pandemic-shortened season really can’t count for anything.

The Yankees decided to move Torres back to second base in the middle of September and we started to see his bat come around a bit. He hit .300 with an .815 OPS as a second baseman compared to .251 with a .671 OPS as a shortstop. The numbers at second base are a small sample size, but we also have a larger sample size of him dominating as a hitter while playing defense at that position.

Torres is projected to make $5.9 million after earning Super Two status, so he’ll have three more years of arbitration eligibility. Cashman mentioned last week that Torres will remain at second base, which implied he isn’t going anywhere despite there being loose speculation he might be traded.

If that’s the case, why not sign him to an extension and at least lock him up through his arb years (and potentially beyond)? In that case, maybe you save a few bucks, and in the event the conversation turns around once again and you want to trade him, he actually might have more value being locked into a salary for each year through 2024 instead of having to be burdened with the arbitration process.

The Yankees probably won’t non-tender Torres at any point through 2024 if they opt to keep him, and he might view this as a bit of security after two really underwhelming campaigns.

Jordan Montgomery #47 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
Jordan Montgomery #47 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) /

2. Jordan Montgomery

Heading into his second year of arbitration eligibility, Jordan Montgomery has proven over the last two years that he should be a mainstay in the starting rotation. His 2020 regular season wasn’t pretty, but his gutsy performance to keep the Yankees alive in Game 4 of the ALDS said it all.

Then, in 2021, he finished the year with a 3.83 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 162 strikeouts across 30 starts (157.1 innings). It was his best season as a starter and also featured his highest workload. He especially deserves a ton of credit for the criminal lack of run support he received, too.

The Yankees have made many mistakes in the past with their failures to invest in starting pitching, but the Gerrit Cole signing and gamble on Corey Kluber suggest they’re trying to dispel that notion. Signing Monty to an extension would be another helpful indication of that.

When you factor in the eternal uncertainty surrounding Luis Severino, another injury-prone starter in Jameson Taillon (who’s already going to miss the start of 2022), and a potentially undefined role for Nestor Cortes Jr. (is he going to be this good as a starter next year?), the need for Montgomery to provide stability in the middle of the rotation feels essential for this team to take the next step and work toward contender status.

The lefty will be entering his age-29 season in 2022 and he’s signed through 2023, but it wouldn’t be a bad move to give him a bit of a raise and show you want to keep him beyond his controllable years. It’d provide the Yankees with a clearer picture down the road, which is something they haven’t had with their pitching staff in over a decade.

Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /

1. Aaron Judge

Did you need to know this was the top choice? Judge is entering a contract year and he did what he needed to do in 2021: he stayed healthy, was the team’s most consistent player, and was a top player in the game.

After the season ended, he also said he wanted to be a Yankee for life. What else does anybody need to know?

Judge is a plus player on both sides of the ball and was ninth in MLB according to fWAR. The only players ahead of him were Trea Turner, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bryce Harper, Marcus Semien, Juan Soto, Jose Ramirez, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Carlos Correa. Those guys are either the highest-paid players in the game or will be very soon.

Care for some more cool stats? Judge was sixth in wRC+, eighth in wOBA and 10th in defensive runs saved.

Before this season, it was tough to justify giving Judge close to $200 million, but that’s no longer a discussion, even though he’s entering his age-30 season. He’s the reason the Yankees didn’t come in fourth in the AL East. His steady production kept the offense from crashing and burning. His ability to play center field helped with lineup flexibility. His bat protected a number of other hitters who were able to succeed due to his presence.

Some fans would like to see some better postseason production, but even though he has a career .230 average in 35 playoff games, he also has 11 home runs and an .843 OPS. He’s delivered plenty of times. The Yankees just haven’t been able to put it all together, and naturally everyone is taking blame when that happens.

Judge is the guy. End of story. And this is not a distraction you want hanging over your head throughout next season.

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